


Finders Keepers

by inhystereks



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Blind Date, Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:20:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15829911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inhystereks/pseuds/inhystereks
Summary: “Sorry, I know I’m kind of staring, but she didn’t tell me you were so good-looking,” Stiles babbled, wanting to hit himself even as the words left his mouth.“She,” the guy said, something in his expression shifting. “Laura.”“No,” Stiles replied with a frown. “Lydia. Who’s Laura?”“My sister,” the guy said, brows furrowed once more. “Who’s Lydia?”“My best friend,” Stiles said.





	Finders Keepers

**Author's Note:**

> For Kisha, on her graduation day. A little bit of fluff to congratulate you on all your hard work. Hope you like it! <3

Stiles looked between his phone screen and the man seated at a table near the windows.

It was like something out of a movie scene. Light from the setting sun filtered over his features as he perused the menu, broad shoulders relaxed and lips pursed in thought. He was blindingly beautiful, and Stiles had no idea how Lydia had set this up. She must have talked up his personality with no mention of his average looks. Or how talkative he was. Or how distractible. 

Actually, what the hell had she told him to get him to agree to this? Whatever it was, Stiles hoped it was at least honest, because he hadn’t been told that he would need to fake acting a certain way or a particular skill. He shook his head. He was psyching himself out before he even met the guy. Lydia wouldn’t put him in a position like that. Whatever this guy had heard had been the honest truth. 

Stiles took a deep breath and walked over.

“Hi,” he said, pulling out the other chair and sitting. “I’m Stiles.”

The man stared at him. He was even more gorgeous up close. His eyes were ocean-colored. Green one moment, changing to blue with the right light, hazel, blue-green, grey, and green again. It was mesmerizing.

“Hi,” the man replied.

Absently, Stiles noted that his date’s tone was cautious. But it wasn’t angry or disappointed, so he dismissed it. It was only when the man began to scowl that he realized how long he’d been staring without saying anything.

“Sorry, I know I’m kind of staring, but she didn’t tell me you were so good-looking,” Stiles babbled, wanting to hit himself even as the words left his mouth.

“She,” the guy said, something in his expression shifting. “Laura.”

“No,” Stiles replied with a frown. “Lydia. Who’s Laura?”

“My sister,” the guy said, brows furrowed once more. “Who’s Lydia?”

“My best friend,” Stiles said, and now he was a bit confused too. Unless… “Wait, is Laura gorgeous, frightening, and hella judgmental of everyone’s life choices, especially yours?”

He nodded and sat back in his chair a little.“So you have met her,” he said.

Stiles laughed. “No, I’m pretty sure I haven’t. But now I’m getting that Lydia and Laura are friends. Sorry, I thought Lydia knew you personally and talked to you directly when she set up this date.”

The man’s eyebrows did something spectacularly complicated, leaving Stiles a bit impressed. He hesitated a moment, then smiled slightly and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Stiles. I’m Derek.”

Stiles grinned, and grasped his hand. He would have thought he was imagining the small shock he felt, except Derek’s gaze dropped to where they were touching for a moment before he let go.

“So your sister and my best friend are friends,” Stiles said. He picked up the menu and started scanning for anything that seemed particularly appetizing.

“Apparently. Laura is...” his mouth twisted, “Social.”

Stiles looked up from the menu. “And you’re not?” he asked, tilting his head a little. 

Derek shrugged a bit uncomfortably, like he hadn’t expected the conversation to shift from Laura to him.

“I have a few close friends,” he said hesitantly. He looked down at the menu, tapping a finger on the page.

“Ah, you’re more of a quality over quantity kind of guy,” Stiles said with a smile.

Derek relaxed a little. “Yeah,” he said quietly, “You could say that.”

“I totally get that. Sometimes there’s only a certain type of person you can really connect with. That’s how it is with me and my best friend,” Stiles said.

“Lydia,” Derek said.

Stiles blinked in surprise. “Oh, I was actually talking about my friend Scott. Though, I guess I should call him my stepbrother.”

Derek’s eyebrows went up, questioning without words. Stiles chuckled and explained about his childhood best friend, who had become his official brother after Stiles’ dad and Scott’s mom got married. Derek learned that Scott’s dad had split, but something warned him against questions about Stiles’ mother. Instead, he told a story about one of the many times his friend Erica and his sisters had ganged up on him. Stiles responded with a story about how Lydia had railroaded him into getting an entirely new wardrobe. Derek countered with a story of the biggest diva he knew, his uncle Peter.

Stiles was practically crying into his pasta. “Your uncle sounds hilarious.”

Derek watched him. His smile was gorgeous, and his laugh was genuine. The date wasn’t even over yet, and he knew he would have to thank Laura for setting him up. Though, he would still have to scold her for springing it on him. If Derek had said the wrong thing before he realized what was going on, he would have missed out on the best date he’d had in years. Possibly ever.

“I should take notes,” Stiles continued through the last of his chuckles.

Derek snorted. “The last thing this world needs is another Peter.”

“I wouldn’t be another Peter,” Stiles said with a mischievous smile. “I would be me with Peter’s teachings.”

Derek quirked a brow. “Somehow, I don’t think that’s much better,” he said wryly.

“Oh, come on, you can’t tell me you never used something your uncle taught you to your own advantage,” Stiles said.

“Well,” Derek said hesitantly. He ran a hand through his hair and ruffled it a little. 

“Oooh, there’s definitely a story. Lemme hear,” Stiles said, leaning forward eagerly. He paused a moment. “But if you really don’t want to tell, we can talk about something else.”

Derek gave a small smile at the out. It actually helped him relax and feel more confident.

He leaned forward and spoke more quietly. “Peter taught me how to hotwire a car. And there was one time Laura drove us to a party with the spare key to my mom’s car and then lost the key…” he trailed off for a moment.

Stiles laughed. “So you hotwired your mom’s car to get back home. Oh my god, that’s brilliant. Did they find out it was you two?”

“Not until she went to get her oil changed and the mechanic saw the stripped wires. Since we took the spare key, when she couldn’t find it, she assumed it just got misplaced and had another copy made. We still got grounded, but Peter gave us both $50 bucks when he found out, so.” Derek shrugged.

“What a way to encourage delinquency,” Stiles said with a grin.

“Yeah, Mom said we could give the money back or stay grounded for an extra week. Laura and I kept it and used it to start saving up for our own cars.” 

“So how long did it take you to save up?” Stiles asked.

“A little less than two years, I think,” Derek said, “I started doing odd jobs around town and then got a job at a coffee shop.”

“Aw, dude, you should have gotten your uncle to keep paying you for criminal activity. Then maybe your mom would have gotten you a car just so you would stop getting in trouble,” Stiles said. Derek blinked at him. 

“You’re a Slytherin, aren’t you.”

Stiles beamed at him. “Is it that obvious?” he asked happily.

Derek smiled down at his plate of food.

Yeah. Best date ever.

-

“Seriously, Laura?” Derek demanded as soon as he walked in the door.

She gave him a blank look. “What?”

“Next time you set me up on a blind date, _actually tell me_ ,” Derek said rolling his eyes. “I know you think I would do anything to get out of something like that, but I was really annoyed with you for bailing on me all of a sudden and I almost said something rude to Stiles when he sat down. Which would have defeated the whole point.”

Laura stared at him in silence for a strangely long time.

Finally, she said, “I’m guessing you had fun with Stiles, because you would be way angrier if the date went badly.”

At that, Derek shrugged and looked away.

“Hell no, baby bro,” Laura said with a feral grin. “Sit your ass down and tell me everything.”

By the end of the story, she’d figured out what happened. Stiles was the one who was supposed to be on the blind date, and for some reason had thought Derek was the person he’d been set up with. The pair of them had come up with the explanation that she and Stiles’ best friend, Lydia, were friends who conspired for the setup. Which only worked because Derek hadn’t wanted to embarrass Stiles by telling him Laura hadn’t actually told him she was setting him up.

Laura decided not to say anything. She would have preferred to have actually set up the date, so she could brag if they ended up getting married. But Derek actually seemed to really like the guy, so it wasn’t all bad. Bizzare first date story aside, it seemed like this might turn into something. If she told Derek the truth, he would overthink it and cancel the plans he and Stiles had made for another date out of embarrassment and fear.

She hoped this Lydia person wouldn’t ruin it for them. Or, if she told Stiles that Derek hadn’t actually been his date, that Stiles would have the guts to keep seeing her brother.

-

Lydia was waiting for him outside his apartment when he got home. If Stiles hadn’t been so over the moon about how his date went, he might have thought more about that. As it was, he barely noticed she had her angry face on.

“I will totally listen to you rant about whatever Jackson did to piss you off, but can I gush about my amazing date first?” Stiles said, as he practically bounced up to her.

She stopped tapping her foot, virescent eyes studying him intently. 

“Your date,” she repeated.

“Yeah, with Derek,” Stiles said as he unlocked the door. “Which, by the way, you should have told me that you knew his sister, not him. It took us a minute to realize you and Laura set us up.”

He glanced back at where she stood, unmoving, in front of his door. Her eyebrows were high on her forehead, and she was looking at him like he was impossible. He got that look from her a lot. 

“Well, are you coming in? I don’t even know how you managed to convince Laura that I was a good choice for her brother, but thank you a thousand times. Seriously, Lyds, he’s so amazing. Like I can’t even believe someone as hot and smart and funny as him even wants a second date with someone like me,” Stiles babbled.

Lydia’s brows were practically meeting her hairline now, but abruptly her expression became neutral and she stepped inside. 

“Start from the beginning,” she said.

Lydia was equal parts amused and slightly annoyed by the story. Annoyed because it actually was her fault for not giving more identifying factors about his date (like a name, for example), but also amused because Stiles _would_ accidentally end up on a date with a completely random person and have it go spectacularly well when he hadn’t been able to purposely get a good date for himself in almost a year.

She berated him about leaving dishes in the sink until he huffed into the kitchen to wash them, still shouting about Derek over his shoulder. While he was doing that, she plugged in his dead phone and turned it on. Honestly, his password wasn’t the easiest to guess, but it wasn’t particularly hard if you knew Stiles relatively well. She would bother him about changing it, except the knowledge came in handy every once in a while. Lydia deleted the missed calls and increasingly angry and worried messages about him standing up his date. She could tell him about the mixup if he and Derek became an established couple. If she told him now, he would insist Derek only asked him out for a second date because he pitied the guy who’d gotten stood up. Which made no sense at all, but Stiles would never believe Derek actually liked him, or he would assume that Laura also explained the mixup and Derek wouldn’t want to see him again. Lydia hoped Laura wouldn’t say anything. Or, even if she did, that Derek would still be brave enough to contact Stiles and go out on that second date.

-

Their second date was similar to their first date in that it happened completely by chance. They had exchanged numbers at the end of their first date, not wanting to have to go through Laura and Lydia to contact each other again. Stiles had insisted on putting in his information himself. He said he could tell Derek wasn’t the type to personalize it, so it was his responsibility to put in his own emojis. They had been texting all week, but hadn’t been able to make concrete plans to meet up yet. Derek casually asked Stiles what he was up to.

Derek stared at his phone for a long moment.

Stiles was over with their drinks in a few minutes. The way his face lit up when he caught sight of Derek made something in Derek’s chest throb. He watched as Stiles slowly walked over, correctly assuming his caution was because he didn’t want to spill their drinks.

“Your vanilla chai, sir,” Stiles said gallantly, handing Derek his cup.

“Thanks. There’s some chairs over here,” Derek said, gesturing to a cozy little corner.

“I love this place,” Stiles said to Derek as they settled in the armchairs. “I’ve gotten so many good books from here.”

“What kinds of books do you usually read?” Derek asked.

“Oh, I'll read most things. I get side-eyed a lot for buying a lot of books with wildly different premises,” Stiles said. “What about you?” 

“I don’t think I’m as eclectic as you, but my tastes do vary. I like fiction, fantasy. Spanish poetry. Books on architecture and art,” Derek said. 

“Oh, you know Spanish?” Stiles asked, leaning forward in interest.

“Sí, mis abuelos eran de México,” Derek replied.

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “Nie sądzę, że mówisz innymi językami, prawda?” he asked with a smirk.

Derek’s eyes widened. Then he tilted his head with a considering expression. “Polish?” he finally asked.

Stiles’ jaw dropped. “Wow, I can’t believe you actually guessed right.”

“I have an ear for that sort of thing,” Derek said. 

“Wait, how many languages do you speak?” Stiles asked.

“Eight,” Derek replied casually.

“Dude, that is insane. I can barely manage to keep everything straight with English and Polish,” Stiles said incredulously. “Have you ever spoken to someone in completely the wrong language without even realizing it?”

“It doesn’t happen by accident often, but I sometimes respond in a different language to annoy my sisters or my friends,” Derek said with a sheepish shrug. 

“I used to glare at teachers and grumble about how annoying they were, then tell them I’d cursed them in my mother tongue,” Stiles said with a proud smile.

Derek’s laugh made Stiles’ heart race. Was it a bit strange to feel so proud of making someone laugh? 

“So do I get to know all the languages you speak?” Stiles asked. If he was a tad bit breathless, it obviously wasn’t his fault. Who could remain neutral when faced with a laughing Derek Hale?

Derek took a sip of his chai. “Maybe. If you stick around long enough to find out.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, so sounds easy enough,” Stiles said, settling more firmly into his seat. His tone made it clear he wasn’t just talking about the present moment. He couldn’t be more excited to see how this unfolded, if Derek was as amazing as he thought. 

Stiles looked at the man sitting next to him with a soft smile. He could get used to this. 

-

Derek and Stiles had been dating for almost six months when they decided to get their friend groups together. Stiles insisted on Taco Tuesday. Derek offered up his and Laura’s house. It was no doubt going to be an interesting night, but the most surprising moment came before they even got to eat. 

Stiles came in with Lydia and Kira. Erica and Isaac were sprawled on the couch, with Laura in the armchair.

“You boyfriend is here!” Laura yelled toward the kitchen.

Derek walked out a few moments later. Stiles practically floated over to give him a hello kiss, but he was thoroughly distracted when he heard Lydia speak.

“Laura, it’s so nice to finally meet you in person,” Lydia said.

“Lydia, your pictures don’t do you justice. You’re absolutely gorgeous. It’s nice to meet you too!” 

Derek and Stiles turned to them with perturbed expressions.

“Wait,” Isaac said, “Didn’t you two set Derek and Stiles up? How have you never met before?”

The girls shrugged.

“We didn’t set them up,” Laura said.

“What,” Stiles said.

“It’s my fault, I guess, since I only told you your date would be wearing a maroon sweater, but neglected to mention his name,” Lydia said with a slight frown, “I wanted you to be surprised. But you saw Derek and assumed he was your date.”

“And Derek assumed I set him up without any warning, so you two came up with your explanation that Lydia and I were friends and set you up. But the date went really well and neither of us wanted to say anything in case you backed out of a second one,” Laura added.

“When you guys made it official, I found Laura on Facebook. We’re friends now, but we’ve never met in person before,” Lydia finished.

Derek and Stiles stared in utter shock for a long moment. Then, Stiles started laughing. 

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “Sorry. It’s just I _would_ accidentally go on a date with a stranger and have him turn out to be the man of my dreams.” He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, and Derek smiled down at him.

While they gazed ardently into each other’s eyes, Erica said, “But I want to know who the surprise was.”

Lydia shrugged and looked over at Stiles. “Do you want to know, Stiles?”

“Hm?” Stiles asked. He turned his head to look at her, but kept his eyes on Derek until the last possible moment. Lydia rolled her eyes.

“Do you want to know who your date was supposed to be?” she repeated.

Stiles gave her a blank look. “I have Derek. Why would I want to know about some other guy?”

“Awwww,” Erica cooed, “Look! Derek’s blushing!”

Stiles’ head snapped around, but before he could comment, Derek dragged him into the kitchen. They could hear the others laughing and talking in the living room. Boyd and Cora would probably be there soon, Scott and Liam a little later. Stiles hopped up on the counter and Derek slid into the space between his legs. 

“You’re really not curious?” Derek asked.

Stiles snorted. “I was born curious. But it’s not something I need to know. It won’t change how I feel about you.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Lydia to set you up with someone you had a massive crush on,” Derek said. “That’s probably what the surprise was.”

“Even if she did, I’m head over heels for you. I know you, Derek. And you’re so much more than some fantasy crush. I fell in love with the man of my dreams. All that’s changed is we don’t have to thank Laura and Lydia for setting us up,” Stiles said.

Derek blinked. “Wow, they really milked that considering they had nothing to do with us meeting,” he said.

Stiles laughed. Derek looked at him and fell in love all over again.

“I love you, too,” he said. 

Stiles smiled softly at him and pulled him closer. “Finders keepers.”

Derek smiled into their kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! I wanted to write so many stories for you, but limited time and all that. Maybe I'll just keep adding my fluffiest stories to this collection. Sound good? Anyway, congratulations again and again on your graduation! You worked so hard and deserve the best, darling, really you do. Celebrate this day, and celebrate yourself! <3 <3 <3


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